


Interpretation

by Zerrat



Category: Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy XIII-2
Genre: Community: fangrai-forever, F/F, F/M, FangRai February, Post-Canon, Relationship from an Outsider's Perspective
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-05
Updated: 2013-03-05
Packaged: 2017-12-04 09:27:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/709189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zerrat/pseuds/Zerrat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When discussing the growing friendship between Lightning and Fang with Snow, Serah comes to a couple of realisations.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Interpretation

**Author's Note:**

> _Prompt #32: Serah is discussing her sister’s friendship with Fang with Snow, and then it hits her that the friendship is not as platonic as she’d believed._
> 
>  
> 
> Just something short with a bit of introspection - both on the nature of Fang and Lightning's friendship, and on Serah's own changing dynamic with Lightning.

Serah’s day had been brutal, and it was with a great sense of relief that she trudged through the wide, open doors of her home on New Bodhum’s beachfront and then collapsed on the couch at the rear of the living room. Serah heard Snow laugh at her overdramatics from where he'd been standing at the kitchen bench, and frowning, she lifted the arm she'd covered her eyes with to glare at him.

"Hard day at school?" Snow asked, crossing the living room to crouch in front of her with a wide grin. Even after having been with him for years now, that wide, honest smile still made her heart flutter, but that didn't exactly help with her feeling of mental exhaustion.

"'Meanie Miss Farron' seems to be catching on with the new class," Serah explained with a huff, glaring at him when he had the nerve to pat her knee affectionately.

"You do channel your sister quite a lot." Snow offered her his gloved hand, still dusty from his perimeter patrols during that afternoon. Serah grudgingly accepted it as he pulled her onto her feet and tucked her into his arms, holding her securely. Serah inhaled - he smelled of dust, magic and the sea. Better yet, he smelled like home.

"Speaking of my sister," Serah mumbled into his chest, closing her eyes and enjoying the sensation as his fingers trailed through her hair. It was good to have him - all of them - back. "Lightning was meant to be coming over for dinner after her Corps paperwork was done, which should be soon. Have you heard anything?"

There were a few beats of silence, and Serah began to frown again.

"She called me just as I walked in the door. Said she was sorry, but that something came up." Snow’s voice held a strange note, and Serah looked up as she pushed away from him.

"Did she say what it was about?" Serah couldn't help the glimmer of irritation begin to stir in her chest, and the emotion grew with a quickness that surprised her. This was happening far too often, and it was _unfair._ "If Rygdea keeps her back one more time I swear that -"

Snow laughed, his eyes crinkling in another smile. "No, no, nothing like that. She says she’s going to see one of those outdoor movie things they've got showing over at Oerba."

If Lightning was going to Oerba, then she was likely going to go visit Fang while she was there. That somewhat mitigated the stinging fact that Lightning had blown them off again. If Lightning was making the effort to go see their friends, that could only be a good thing, Serah reminded herself.

Lightning had never had many close friends, and minor things like having a life had been mostly put on hold for Serah's sake when their parents had died. If she was honest with herself, Serah had never once stopped feeling guilty about that - but it had been a status quo that Serah had gotten used to.

Since Fang and Vanille had returned, and since the timeline and paradoxes had been reverted as close to normal as was possible, Lightning had been spending a great deal of time with them - Fang in particular. 

First, it had been just socially with the other l'Cie as Lightning had struggled to adapt to a mostly normal role with the Guardian Corps. Then there had been a shared guard duty of the border towns, which eventually grew into extended hunting trips while they worked to preemptively take out potential threats to the growing townships down on Gran Pulse. 

Now, it seemed like the two were simply enjoying one another's company. 

"It's a nice change, because Lightning deserves some happiness. We all do, especially after everything that happened." Serah smiled, and it felt a little more real this time as she reminded herself of that fact. Even if Lightning was now spending more time with Fang than _her_. "I mean, I don't think she's had a best friend since before our parents died."

Snow tilted his head, raising a finger as if he wanted to say something, before letting his hand drop back to his side. There was the strangest expression on his face, as if he was trying to decide if she was joking or not, and failing to come up with the answer he wanted.

Serah was too tired for the games, so she crossed her arms and gave him a stare that would have made Lightning proud.

"Sweetheart," Snow started, looking like he was at a loss as he finally threw up his hands in defeat. "What exactly do you reckon Light is doing with Fang?"

"What?" Serah shook her head, a little puzzled by the simple question. It all seemed fairly obvious to her. What did _he_ think was going on? If there was anything major going on in Lightning's life, Serah was certain she would have been told. "What do you mean by that, Snow? You said they were going to the outdoor movies over in Oerba. What else is there?"

"Right." Snow scratched the back of his neck, looking a little torn as he paused to re-order his thoughts. "Just stop and think for a bit. I know she's your sister and all, but... think back to before the whole Purge thing. Movies, dinners, lazing around the house... You can't tell me that it doesn't sound a lot like how we started off."

Serah narrowed her eyes, starting to shake her head, because it was _Lightning_ , and Lightning barely did close friendships, let alone romance - and then she paused.

Oh.

Since Snow had put it that way, it suddenly became incredibly difficult not to see the last few months with a very, very different slant. All of those nights on hunting trips, the times Serah had come over to find Fang lounging on Lightning's couch, the oddly warm looks that would pass between them...

"You mean... Lightning is...? _Fang_?" Serah blinked rapidly, still struggling with what Snow had helped her to see. To be fair, she had always wondered if Lightning was interested in romance or love at all, but eventually she had given it up for a lost cause. Lightning had been Lightning, and that had been that. Still... "She's dating _Fang_?"

"What's wrong with Fang?" Snow asked with a sudden frown, and did Serah catch a slightly protective note in his voice? Then again, it sounded as though Snow had known about them for a long time. Long before Serah. 

Serah couldn't help but feel like she'd failed Lightning in some fundamental way by having never noticed the change in her sister, or that Serah had done something wrong. What excuse did she have?

"Nothing is wrong with Fang," Serah finally said, shaking her head, unsure if she was meant to be smiling, or just feeling grim and worried. "I just... Lightning never _said_. Not one word, in all these months."

"Maybe she was waiting 'til the right time?"

"But Snow, I'm her sister." She was definitely feeling more hurt the more she considered it. She'd thought that Lightning had trusted her, and with the way Lightning had been so open and happy following the resolution of all the paradoxes, Serah had thought the old days of being held at arms length had been behind them. "Why couldn't she have said something? Why did I have to have it told to me by my _fiancé_?"

A part of her did understand - it wasn't really about Serah. It was about Lightning and whatever it was she had going on with Fang. But even so, Serah couldn't help but feel like she'd said or done something wrong, to make Lightning feel as if she needed to hide that aspect of herself like that.

"Well... it's not like they out and told me, if that helps." Snow reached out and pulled Serah into a hug before she could raise a word of protest. His arms wrapped around her, a reassuring support, just as they had been in the months before the Purge and the year between Cocoonfall and him running off to find Lightning for Serah. She allowed herself to relax into his gentle hold, sighing.

"How did you find out?" Serah didn't want to consider her tone 'petulant', but sometimes she had to admit the obvious.

"The only reason _I_ figured it out is because I've seen the difference in how they act. Back during our Focus, sure, there was this... respect between them. It was kind of cool to watch them butt heads and help each other up." Snow grinned, looking down at her. His eyes were bright as he recalled those long-gone days, days that Serah had missed as she'd dreamed in stasis. "Now though... That thing between them seems entirely different. Now, there's this - this -"

"Heat, when they look at each other," Serah finished for him, because now that she'd noticed it seemed obvious all along. She felt like an oblivious idiot. "How could I not have seen it before?"

"We've been busy, especially after we righted that mess with Etro and Valhalla. Hell, could you blame us for enjoying _our_ lives for a bit?" Snow's smile faded a little as he pulled back, holding each of her shoulders and looking her in the eyes with a worried expression. "Serah, they've kept it quiet, you can't blame yourself. When Lightning is ready to come clean, you know that it'll be to _you_ first. You're her sister. But you gotta be patient. I mean, did we tell Lightning right away?"

Serah felt herself laugh reluctantly, as she thought back on those tense few months she'd been dating Snow before the Purge. Why did Snow always make it seem so simple?

"No, we didn't." Serah smiled up at him, and now it felt genuine. "And you're right. I'll be patient. I suppose it's the least I can do, considering."

Serah just wished that there was some way she could let Lightning know that it was okay - that Serah was happy for her - without overstepping the invisible boundary that had somehow sprung up between them when she hadn't been watching. The distance between them felt different than the one that had slowly grown between them back before the Purge. That one had been cold. This one was just...

It was just hard to realize that Lightning really had let Serah go, to allow Serah to live her life with Snow. It wasn't like losing Lightning either, even if Serah did feel a sense of loss. The dynamic between them had fundamentally changed, all thanks to everything they'd been through.

That was a good thing. A _great_ thing. Serah felt her smile grow a little more as she considered it. It was what she'd wanted all along. To live a full and happy life with her family and friends, and to know that the ones she loved were happy, too.

Feeling much more optimistic, Serah allowed Snow to lead her into the kitchen to begin their evening dinner. So what if Lightning hadn't told Serah about her dates with Fang? If something real came of it, Serah knew that Snow was right - Lightning would tell her. But that would all happen in time, and until then, Serah could be content in her quiet happiness that her sister had found something for herself for a change.

**Author's Note:**

> If you'd like updates as to current projects or just want to chat, feel free to come visit me on my tumblr: [zerrat](http://zerrat.tumblr.com/) (personal) and [zerratwritesstuff](http://zerratwritesstuff.tumblr.com) (writing)!


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